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High mbm does not give you any advantage in endurance. But, high mbm will allow you to perform at a higher intensity without running out of gas.

Can you explain this apparent contradiction? I thought that MBM or rather MHR (maximum heart rate) is the maximum one can still perform. Any reading above this, you are then pushed into the anaerobic zone, which is the threshold at which oxygen supply by breathing is insufficient and your muscles will be starved of oxygen. Isn't it true that a player who can perform at a high intensity without running out of 'gas' can be equally good in endurance? I thought fitness is determined by the pulse difference between the MHR and the actual heart rate after 5 mins' rest, the higher the difference the fitter you are and it should also give you an advantage in endurance too.
Say if you have two players, both with an MHR of 200, but after 5 mins' of rest following exercises that pushed them to their 200 MHR limit, one player's resting heart rate is 80 and the other 100, the former will still have more 'gas' and he will also have an endurance advantage.

Fitness is not determined by any measurement of heart rate, although a number of heart rate measures may be used as indicators of fitness.

Fitness is determined by an individual's ability to perform a certain type and intensity of work for a certain length of time.

MHR is a limiting factor in elite aerobic endurance as athletes get older. MHR is not directly responsive to training, but long-term fitness training may reduce its age-related decline substantially.

Resting pulse rate may be used as a crude indicator of fitness, but comparisons between individuals are far less meaningful than using it as a measure of an individual's response to training.

Lactic threshold is arguably a more useful indicator of fitness. A person's lactic threshold is the highest heart rate at which he can continue to work purely aerobically. Lactic threshold is responsive to training.

As you say, heart rate return time is also a useful general indicator of fitness. Generally speaking, after exercise a fitter person's heart rate will drop faster than a less fit person.

Can you explain this apparent contradiction? I thought that MBM or rather MHR (maximum heart rate) is the maximum one can still perform. Any reading above this, you are then pushed into the anaerobic zone, which is the threshold at which oxygen supply by breathing is insufficient and your muscles will be starved of oxygen. Isn't it true that a player who can perform at a high intensity without running out of 'gas' can be equally good in endurance? I thought fitness is determined by the pulse difference between the MHR and the actual heart rate after 5 mins' rest, the higher the difference the fitter you are and it should also give you an advantage in endurance too.
Say if you have two players, both with an MHR of 200, but after 5 mins' of rest following exercises that pushed them to their 200 MHR limit, one player's resting heart rate is 80 and the other 100, the former will still have more 'gas' and he will also have an endurance advantage.

Gollum says it better than me! MHR is more a person potential than actual fitness. A young person will have higher MHR as it is to a great extend link to age. A fit older person will still out perform a younger less fit person.

Example: A young normal person age 20 years. Rough estimate of his MHR will be 220-20 = 200. And an older very fit person age 40 years. Rough estimate of his MHR will be 220-40 = 180.

Because the young person did not do any serious trainning, the best he can perform continuously is at 70% MHR, which is 140. The older person, because he is very fit can continuously perform at 80% MHR, which is 144. By this example, we can see that the young person do not realise his maxmum potential because of lack of trainning and thus, the older person can perform better than him.

You are right that a person that can recover faster will have an advantage. But a person that can perform at a higher lever will not need to recover!

It is impossible to perform at a greater intensity that your MHR. It is a limiting factor perculiar to each individual.

Gollum says it better than me! MHR is more a person potential than actual fitness. A young person will have higher MHR as it is to a great extend link to age. A fit older person will still out perform a younger less fit person.

Example: A young normal person age 20 years. Rough estimate of his MHR will be 220-20 = 200. And an older very fit person age 40 years. Rough estimate of his MHR will be 220-40 = 180.

Because the young person did not do any serious trainning, the best he can perform continuously is at 70% MHR, which is 140. The older person, because he is very fit can continuously perform at 80% MHR, which is 144. By this example, we can see that the young person do not realise his maxmum potential because of lack of trainning and thus, the older person can perform better than him.

You are right that a person that can recover faster will have an advantage. But a person that can perform at a higher lever will not need to recover!

It is impossible to perform at a greater intensity that your MHR. It is a limiting factor perculiar to each individual.

Are you sure it is impossible to go beyond one's MHR? My MHR for my age is 152, and this is 100% of my MHR. But I do go to 175 during long rallies, quite often. I have even hit 182 but then had to slow down because my muscles were not getting any oxygen and I felt that my lungs were going to explode. A 20 year old using my pulse monitor hardly register more than 165 when he was playing against me.

Are you sure it is impossible to go beyond one's MHR? My MHR for my age is 152, and this is 100% of my MHR. But I do go to 175 during long rallies, quite often. I have even hit 182 but then had to slow down because my muscles were not getting any oxygen and I felt that my lungs were going to explode. A 20 year old using my pulse monitor hardly register more than 165 when he was playing against me.

How do I measure the MHR ? Just play as hard as possible and then measure my pulse ? That's close to my MHR ?

My resting bp is around 55 and I can last 2 singles matches of the old 15 pt system consecutively (maybe 1-2 mins break in between while changing courts and shuttles) but usually very very exhausted afterwards.

Looks like most badminton players have lower pulse than an avg person. How about other sports? Say, tennis or squash ?

How do I measure the MHR ? Just play as hard as possible and then measure my pulse ? That's close to my MHR ?

My resting bp is around 55 and I can last 2 singles matches of the old 15 pt system consecutively (maybe 1-2 mins break in between while changing courts and shuttles) but usually very very exhausted afterwards.

Looks like most badminton players have lower pulse than an avg person. How about other sports? Say, tennis or squash ?

You wear a pulse monitor around your chest and a receiver watch on your wrist. When you are at the point of near exhaustion, have a look at your receiver watch and note the reading. Compare this with 220-your age, and if your pulse monitor has a lower reading then you have good reasons to try harder to be fitter.
I have a friend, an ex Hong Kong singles champion who used to train with a pulse monitor, as a way to improve his fitness. The goal is to get a huge pulse difference between your resting heart rate and your maximum heart rate and to get a below 90 pulse rate after 5 minutes rest following a prolonged exercise when you have hit your maximum pulse rate.

It's possible to approximate an exercise stress test using a running track and specific run/rest ratios. I can't remember the programme.

A more practical method for most people is just to go for a run. Warm up, then run for a short time at your normal speed. Then run all-out at 100% effort. Rest until you're ready to do this again. After a few tries (less than ten, probably less than five), your performance (and HR) will drop and you should end the test.

During this test, you keep watching your HR monitor and record the highest (sensible) number that it shows. If you've got a fancy HR monitor, it may record the maximum achieved HR for you!

This number becomes you "working" MHR. Your actual MHR may be slightly higher; if you repeat the test, always choose your highest scores (so if you get a lower score on a second test, ignore it).

Every few years you will need to start again and retest from scratch (due to the expected 1 BPM drop per year).

Are you sure it is impossible to go beyond one's MHR? My MHR for my age is 152, and this is 100% of my MHR. But I do go to 175 during long rallies, quite often. I have even hit 182 but then had to slow down because my muscles were not getting any oxygen and I felt that my lungs were going to explode. A 20 year old using my pulse monitor hardly register more than 165 when he was playing against me.

The 220-Age formula is only a guide for average person. If you can go over your MHR using this formula than you are likely to lead quite an active life which slow down your MHR rate of decrease with age.

If you have been trainning regularly, you will feel confortable playing at a level nearer your MHR than another person who train irregularly. Youth is not an automatic passport to fitness, as the saying goes 'no sweat, no gain'. The 20 years old may not be as fit as you and thus cannot play at a higher level than 162 (81% of his MHR which is actually very good if he can maintain this rate for more than 10 mins). He could also be very fit but is taking it easy.